The Football Forecast

Arsene Wenger: I used too many experienced players

In the wake of Arsenal’s shock Capital One Cup exit to the hands of Sheffield Wednesday, the Gunners boss has admitted to using ‘too many experienced players’ and not the other way round.

The north London club lost both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott during the first-half of play which left Wenger in frustration as his injury tally grows once more, describing it as a “big blow”.

Theo Walcott – going off injured after only being on the pitch for 14 minutes

“We are short now with the injuries,” added the 66-year-old, who saw his side crush to a 3-0 defeat.

“I have to manage the workload of the players and at the end of the day I still think I maybe brought too many experienced players here.”

Wenger has been criticised by fans for never taking this particular competition seriously, as the 66-year-old tends to field youngsters.

Last night, Arsenal started two youth players – along with fringe player Joel Campbell – whilst the likes of Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez were rested.

Petr Cech continued to take position in goal, whilst consistent defenders Héctor Bellerín, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal missed out, which was one of the reasons why the Premier League club faltered.

The Gunners lacked creativity, with Olivier Giroud left isolated up front – maybe Wenger needed more first-team players at Hillsborough to just get the win secured?

Arsenal fans would have of course wanted to win the game seeing key players feature, but that wasn’t the case.

Wenger, however, who likes to give youth players a chance in this cup competition, also admitted the level was “too high” for the younger players he selected.

But, if you play first-team players in games like this, you run the risk of picking up unwanted injuries.

Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain are now expected to join Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, David Ospina and Tomáš Rosický on the sideline.